SEO: 10 Timeless Tips to Dominate The Search Results

SEO: 10 Timeless Tips to Dominate The Search Results -

We trust all our questions to Google. We base our – more and less critical – decisions on information that online search engines provide us with. Google also knows that people trust Google. And the company wants to keep it that way. Do you want to take serious steps with search engine optimization? Then you build a good relationship with Google. Because a relationship with the search engine is actually – just as it applies to every other relationship – based on trust. In this article, I show you the importance of reliability. Besides, I give you 10 timeless tips. Do you follow that up? Then you are guaranteed to score in the search engine!

How do I fill out my tax form? What is the fastest route to my business appointment? Which series do I have to bounce again? You (or the organization you work for) have the answer to one or more of these kinds of questions. And of course, you want the person using Google to find the solution. With you. Your information must, therefore, be found in the search engines.

SEO: 10 Timeless Tips to Dominate The Search Results -

And we all know that most people look no further than the first page of the search results. What am I saying? More often not even beyond the third or fourth result. So, how do you get your content right at the top of Google? As far as I am concerned, one thing is very important: trust.
Reliability as a ranking factor

Reliability is one of the most important features that you can have in life. It is worth gold, in friendships and relationships. But also on a business level. And online. Online search engines always strive for reliable results. Google not only needs to know that your website is the right place for the visitor to find the most relevant answer but you – as the sender – must also find a reliable party. The ‘trust’ factor is therefore interwoven with many well-known and determining ranking factors.

Trust takes years to build, to break and forever to repair.

For you, it is therefore important to conquer the ‘heart’ of Google. But what is the key to the trust of the search engine? As with any other relationship, you must work with Google. Building trust takes time. And if you do not watch out, you’ll kill it again in the blink of an eye. Blackhat SEO techniques – such as cloaking or buying cheap backlinks on shadowy websites – do more harm than good. Google does not (anymore) kick in.

The search engines are getting better at tracking down people searching for these kinds of shortcuts. In the short term, you may rise slightly in the ranking, but these methods are never future-proof. And that’s precisely what you want: a strategy for SEO that helps you move forward. And continues to help. In short, time and energy are an important breeding ground for success. Just like in real life.

The 3 core components of Google’s trust

And that is why you have to build trust. First of the customer. Then you will eventually win Google for yourself. And with key positions in Google, you get more visitors again. Do you know how to convince them? Then you build up an ever stronger reputation. And that is good for your customer, for the search engine and for you.

Do you understand the importance of trust? Then you will automatically understand why certain SEO strategies work, and why certain ‘tricks’ will work against you. Trust is the basis of search engine marketing. And that roughly consists of three pillars:

1. Technology: a reliable domain

The longer you know someone, the more trust you can build a relationship. As long as you continue to respect each other respectfully in a relationship, trust naturally builds up in time. That’s how it works with search engines. As soon as Google gets to know your website or page – so when your page is indexed – you enter into a relationship.

Your domain or page builds confidence. And that trust is partly based on all kinds of technical aspects: is your URL safe (HTTPS)? Is your code from your website efficient? Is your page speed good? It is not only important what the status of your website is at the moment that it is indexed but also what happens next – during your ‘relationship.’ So always keep an eye on technical developments, and develop with Google.

2. Content: valuable content

The content of your page is essential. Do you regularly post well-written content, which the searcher really needs? Then you help that up in the search results. It is important to have a clear focus on what you stand for and what the visitor thinks is important. If you know which questions there are in your target group, you will be able to respond to them more easily. By doing (regular) research on this, you remain – besides dynamic – current, relevant and also reliable for your visitor (and potential customer).

3. Authority: a natural link profile

Search engines see a link from another site to your site as a sort of ‘compliment’. The referring website wants to say with a link that visitors will find valuable information on your page. The more of these ‘compliments’ your website gets, the better search engines will appreciate your website.

Also, not only the amount of links is important, but the quality of the backlink is also important. Google looks at the reputation of the web page that links to your website. A backlink from a link directory or home page is generally worth less than a reference from a specialist blog from your industry. With a natural, varied link profile you build up authority.

10 timeless tips for search engine marketing

Google works with an algorithm, a (complicated and for many mysterious) formula that determines the ranking of the search results. Google continuously works on this algorithm. But certain points of attention are actually fairly timeless within SEO. Do you take into account the following 10 timeless tips? Then you are guaranteed to score on the SERP. On the bucket!

1. Website speed

People do not like waiting. Google does not either. Make sure that your website loads quickly. Wherever you are, and whatever device you use. There are several tools to measure the speed of your website, such as Google’s Page Speed ​​tool. With that data, you can get started! Or not. If it is not necessary, it is not necessary.

2. User experience

Google offers – in addition to the most relevant search results – a nice experience. Do you create a pleasant experience for the visitors of your website? Then your visitors will appreciate this as well as Google. Speed ​​is again essential here, but also whether your visitor gets a nice feeling when visiting your page. And how quickly people can find the desired information on your site.

It’s nice when visitors find your site via the search engine, but you also want to keep them. And that they convert. Make navigation easy and limit, for example, the use of ads above the fold.

3. Authority of your domain

Authority – or reputation – is one of the three core components of Google’s trust. Very important. That authority is mainly determined by your link profile. The search engine looks at how many sites link to your page and also to the quality of the websites that link to you. Choose a long-term strategy, because you do not build authority in one day. With a varied and natural link profile, you can book the best results.

4. Qualitative content

The quality of your content is critical. It must be unique. And also, well, written without error. Google gets through it if you only want to score with your text on a keyword, so you might as well do your best to really help your visitors with your content. So invest in good content.

Do not let yourself be led too much by length. If you can pack your message powerfully in 600 words, that’s fine. Do you need 2000 words to explain something really well? Also fine. Offer your text in ‘bite-sized chunks,’ by clearly dividing it into short paragraphs with stimulating cups. Do you stretch a message from 600 words to 2000? Then most readers get out of it because your reader prefers not to make more effort than necessary. And someone who has left your website does not convert. And that’s a missed opportunity for you or your company.

In short: write for your reader, and not for the search engine. Oh yes, I am also not afraid to give your trade secrets price with good content. The sharing of information does not really mean that someone will do it all or go to the competitor. On the contrary. With that quality, you also show the visitor that you are the best.

5. Focus on keywords

Keywords, or keywords, are important. They have always been, and that will remain the same for now. Search engines determine on the basis of keywords what a text is about. Do not exaggerate. With keyword stuffing you might have left a few years ago, now it really cannot be done anymore. A text does not become more readable anyway, and in the previous point, you already saw that that is very important.

So: write, of course, for the reader. Let your keywords come back in smart ways, for example – besides of course in the body text – also in the title, meta description and the URL. Good to know: Google has learned a lot on the semantic level in recent years, the search engine now also relates to synonyms and related words. Again good for your reader, who wants some variation!

6. Play with multimedia

People like to look at visual content. Do not cling tightly to text. Sure, the text is relevant and important for SEO, but you have to keep up with the times. Google itself cannot (yet) watch movies (that’s being worked on), so fill in metadata like ‘title’ and ‘description’ for now if you go to work with multimedia. If you cleverly combine text and image, that is valuable for the end user. And that’s what you do it for. Yet?

7. Involvement

Every time a visitor spends time on your page and/or clicks through, shares something, leaves a comment or interacts in a different way as a result of your content, that shows involvement. And that’s what search engines love. It indicates that visitors have found something of value in your content, and probably also that your content matched their search.

That is, of course, the ultimate goal for every search engine. Create involvement, by ensuring that your content is attractive and well-organized.

Create involvement, by ensuring that your content is attractive and well-organized.

8. Mobile responsiveness

Of course, your website must be friendly to all platforms. Also the mobile phone. If you do not load pages quickly on mobile devices, you will be charging visitors. Not only because searchers drop out annoyed, but Google also looks after you if your website is not optimized for all platforms.

9. Source indication

Do you quote other sources to reinforce your argument? Put a source reference neatly. That makes your content even more powerful because you show that you really want the reader to be of service to your text. Also, if he clicks through to another page (tip: open in another tab).

10. Be unique!

Come with new information or unique insights. You can pick a blog or article from the internet and rewrite it, but it really helps if you make something beautiful and unique. It shows your creativity, and it shows that you have thought carefully about a topic. Visitors appreciate that you do your best to share something useful and valuable.

Do you have additional timeless tips for search engine marketing? Share them below in the comments.

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